


Storytime and Fall

by sapphicsweetheart



Category: Carol (2015), Carol (2015) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Canon Lesbian Relationship, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Lesbian Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:19:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27644029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphicsweetheart/pseuds/sapphicsweetheart
Summary: Therese Belivet is an employee at Full Circle Books, which just so happens to be the first bookshop on her favourite author Carol Aird's bookshop tour across the UK and Europe.
Relationships: Carol Aird & Therese Belivet, Carol Aird/Therese Belivet
Comments: 48
Kudos: 105





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I decided it was probably as good of a time as any to post the first chapter of this fic on the 5th anniversary of Carol's release!
> 
> This story is an AU set in London, as that’s an area I’m much more familiar with than NYC and I don’t want the story to feel jagged by not knowing much about New York/America in general! Also, I probably don’t need to say it, but this exists in a pandemic free world, because we all need a little bit of escapism sometimes. Enjoy :’)

Signing events were what Therese probably looked forward to the most at work. As a little girl, her best friends were books- she’d often create scenarios in her head after finishing a story, thinking of all the different questions she could ask the author, and all the answers she might get in response. This time, however, it felt even more exciting than usual, because the signing was with one of the authors she adored as a teenager; someone she’d always thought she didn’t have the slightest chance of meeting. She would be hosting an event with Carol Aird.

The first thing she packed in the bottom of her bag last night ready for work was a very battered copy of Salt, Carol’s first book. There was a time in which that book didn’t leave Therese’s side, where it would be started again as soon it was finished. She was pretty sure, even after what was probably almost a decade of the book collecting dust, that each individual line remained committed to her memory.

The signing had sold out as soon as it was announced, as to be expected. The bookstore was only small- the event had to be held in a nearby church to ensure that they could fit more than a few dozen people inside. Carol’s newest novel “Flung out of Space” was just about to be released and she had decided to do an independent bookstore tour across the UK and Europe, rather than in larger chain bookstores, with the tour starting at Therese’s own Full Circle Books.

Usually, she’d be moaning at the thought of a potential 14-hour shift, but this time around, Therese could barely wait to clock in. She’d spent hours the night before debating upon what to wear- it needed to be comfortable so that she could work all day in it- but it needed to be nice so that she had a good first impression for when Carol walked through the door.  
In the end, she opted for a dark olive green turtleneck, a brown midi-length skirt and some black ankle boots.

* * *

After two buses and a pumpkin spiced latte from Pret, Therese arrived at work. Although she disliked commuting during rush hour, by the time she arrived at the bookstore, the London streets were always still fairly devoid of human life, allowing her to appreciate the beauty of the capital city so early in the morning.

There was always a lot to get done in the hours before a book event, which definitely wasn’t aided by the fact that the signing wasn’t in the same space that Therese would be spending most of her day. Thankfully, she had manager Danny by her side, as well as a few other friends to get her through the day, and to distract herself from the bubbling excitement and nerves she’d already started to build up.

The bookshop, despite being small, was one of her favourite places in the whole city. It had once been called “London’s answer to Shakespeare and Company” in an article in Time Out magazine, and Therese couldn’t disagree. It was full of character- the bookshelves, full of new and secondhand books, reached the ceiling, plants grew alongside the window and there were a few seating areas and workspaces, designed primarily for authors and students alike to use.

As the clock hit 8:30 am, grabbing a box of new releases, Therese started work.


	2. Chapter Two

As it usually does when you’re working yourself up about an event, the day dragged for Therese. By 3 pm, she was on her fourth cup of coffee of the day- just because the act of going into the staffroom and making the drink took her mind off things.  
“What are you even so worked up about T? She’s just an author- you probably can’t even count on both hands the number of famous people you’ve met since you started here” Danny raised a valid point.  
“She was my favourite author for such a long time…. Her books helped shape my teenage years. It would be just like... “ Therese pause and shrugged. “You meeting one of the musicians you listened to growing up.” Danny shook his head with a smile (which could only mean he thought it was at least a little odd) but asked no further questions.

* * *

Slowly but surely, 5 pm rolled around and the bookshop’s doors closed. They had approximately two hours until the event started, and probably an hour to an hour and a half until Carol arrived at the venue. Which meant it was time to start moving the rest of the decorations and books into the Church they would be hosting at. When one of the other shop staff members- Genevieve- had stopped by earlier to make a delivery of the first couple of hundred books, she mentioned that there was already a queue forming at around midday, albeit only a few people- and when Danny and Therese arrived at the Church in the shop’s van, there was probably a line of at least 50 outside.

It sufficed to say that preparing 450 goodie bags (complete with a copy of the book, a packet of sweets and an exclusive postcard) and setting up the decorations on the stage between two people in an hour and a half was a bit of a task, but somehow they pulled it off. The last goodie bag was made up only moments before the back entrance was opened, and Carol Aird herself, along with someone Therese could only assume was her manager, walked into the church.

* * *

Of course, Therese had seen the picture in the back cover, she had followed Carol’s social media and watched interviews. She knew what Carol looked like, but somehow the woman was even more gorgeous in person than expected.

Unsurprisingly, Danny was the one to walk up to Carol first, whilst Therese was still working on trying to compose herself enough to introduce herself. “Good evening Mrs Aird!” Danny said with a grin.  
“Oh please- call me Carol.” She replied with a laugh.  
“Very well- I’m Danny and this...” He gestured towards the young lady decorating the stage. “-Is Therese. We co-own Full Circle Books. We’re so very thankful that you decided to work with us for the release evening of your newest book. Whilst we still have time before things kick off- would you like a drink?”  
“Well if you’re offering… I’d _love_ a dry martini with an olive” Carol said with a chuckle, moments before the lady stood beside her elbowed her in the side.  
“What she means to say-” The woman smiled politely. “Is that this nitwit would like a glass of water.” She extended her hand to Danny. “Abby Gerhard. Carol’s manager and partner in crime.”  
“A pleasure to meet you. I’ll be right back with some water. For now, allow yourselves to explore the Church and I’ll let Therese introduce herself properly.” Danny looked over towards the brunette adding the finishing touches to the space-themed decorations around the room and headed out of the main doors.

“My, my….” Carol admired the decorations around her as if she hadn’t already seen them as she entered the hall. They truly had gone all-out, from strips of fairy lights laid down the aisle to stars adorning the stage area and paper-mache planets dotted around, it was clear that the room had been made to reflect the sci-fi themes of the book. Therese hopped down from the chair she was stood on to add some more stars to the talk’s backdrop, before taking a deep breath and walking over to Carol and Abby.  
“Do you like it?” She said with a smile, attempting to hide the nervousness in her voice.

“Like it? It’s incredible! We must make sure to get some photos for Instagram whilst I’m doing this talk. I wouldn’t want your gorgeous backdrop to go to waste!” Carol took a step closer to the brunette.

“So… Danny said your name was Therese?” Therese could only nod before Carol spoke again. “Not Theresa?” To which Therese shook her head.  
“Nope- my family’s from the Czech Republic- I suppose it’s a more common name over there.”  
“How fascinating,” Carol replied, before turning her attention back to the decorations that had been dotted around the room.

Before Therese had another chance to speak, still mustering up the courage to mention how important the books had been to her growing up, Danny returned with a bottle of water, mentioning that it was probably best if Carol took her seat on the stage for the Q&A, and Therese took her place as the host, as the attendees were likely to start flooding in at any minute.


	3. Chapter 3

Without a doubt, the event was a success. Of course, Therese started up with her own questions, trying to avoid the ones she was sure Carol had answered thousands of times, before turning to the audience. Before long, the Q&A session was over and the people sat in the aisles had formed a queue running around most of the Church. 

The process was the same every time, really. There would be somebody who would get their book signed, make small talk, and Genevive would take their photo. It was a wonder that Carol’s hand didn’t fall off from signing or her cheeks didn’t fall off from smiling. If they ached at all, she was very good at hiding it. 

Before long, the last book had been signed and the last attendee had left the hall. Danny carried over some spare books to also be signed so they had a small amount of stock in the store, and whilst he did that Therese finally convinced herself to retrieve the battered copy of Salt from her leather satchel resting on the floor in the backroom, and approached Carol. 

“I hate to be a pain…. But I have one last request if you wouldn’t mind...” Therese was sure she hadn’t hidden the nervousness in her voice very well at all. “I have this… I was wondering if you would mind signing it for me?” She asked, sliding the copy of the book across the table towards Carol. 

“Don’t be ridiculous, of course I don’t mind!” Carol signed the book just like she had with the others. “How did you get ahold of this? It’s a first edition, is it not?”

“It’s- it’s actually my copy, from when I was growing up” Therese laughed. “It’s been through quite a lot as I’m sure you can tell! It’s been my favourite book ever since I first read it…. I probably couldn’t even count how many rereads it’s had” 

“Oh, I’m so glad to hear that…. I hope that you enjoy this book just as much” Carol smiled looking up at Therese, closing the book in front of her. “Do you want some help- bringing your stuff back to the shop?” Carol couldn’t see Abby’s questioning look being sent her way, but knew her friend well enough to feel the look being shot to the back of her head. Carol definitely wasn’t known to offer to help with the behind the scenes side of things. 

“Oh no, please don’t worry! We’ll be okay- There’s a few of us here, it really shouldn’t take us too long.” Therese smiled at Carol, who had already started getting up from her chair and putting her jacket on. 

If you hadn’t been watching Carol closely, you wouldn’t have noticed her pick up the gorgeous Montblanc fountain pen she had been signing with, just to place it back down on the table again. It wasn’t a cheap item to leave behind, but it was as good as anything. She made a mental note to call about her ‘lost pen’ in the morning.

“Well if you insist. This has been such a wonderful evening, one of the most beautiful signings I’ve done in such a long time.” Carol remarked as looked around once again at the few decorations that hadn’t already been taken down. “I do hope that this isn’t the last time I get to do such a lovely event with you both. It’s been such a wonderful book release event.” 

And with that, Carol stood back up, said her final thank yous and goodbyes, and herself and Abby walked out the door.

* * *

It was a good few minutes before anyone noticed the pen on the table- they had all been too busy taking down the decorations to pay much attention to the pile of books they needed to shift.

“Uhhh T?” Danny called over to his colleage, who was collecting up the fairy lights strung across the floor. “Isn’t this Ms Aird’s Pen on the table?” Therese stopped dead in her tracks. How could she not have noticed, after spending so long watching the woman sign books? 

“I’ll make sure to email her manager tomorrow and get this sorted.” Therese replied, walking towards the stage. “For now, though- let me take it. I’ll keep it in my work bag to make sure it doesn’t get lost as we move everything out.” The prospect that she might get to see Carol again warmed her in a way she couldn’t quite explain.


	4. Chapter Four

“What do you mean you ‘must have left it there’? I know you Carol, you don’t leave that pen out of your sight- even when you're just in your office.” Carol had made the foolish mistake of mentioning the ‘misplacement’ of her signing pen to her best friend whilst they were in the taxi back to her house. “I think I must have just left it on the table, that’s all. I’ll call them in the morning. It’s really not a big deal.” 

Abby shook her head. “Is this because of that girl? Theresa?” 

“Therese.”

“Point proven.”

As if on cue, the driver pulled outside Carol’s house. 

“No comment.” Carol replied, paying the driver and exiting the car. “Besides, even if it was about her, which it’s not, I wouldn’t know if she was gay or not. For all I know, her and that Dannie guy could be together.” There was a silence between them  for a moment. 

“Right, I’m heading back to mine. As your manager, I say be careful. And has your best friend, I expect you to update me on whatever happens.” And with that, Abby headed off in the direction of her flat. 

  
It took Carol a moment to enter her home, watching as Abby disappeared from her vision into the autumn London streets. Once inside, she headed to her office, placing her bag on her desk. 

And with that, she headed back downstairs to her sitting room, where she poured herself a large glass of wine and figured out just what she would do about retrieving her pen. 

* * *

It was 10:30am and Therese was sat at the checkout desk at the front of the store, trying to write an email to reunite Carol with the ruby red fountain pen being twiddled between her fingers, when the phone rang. 

“Hello, Full Circle Bookshop, how can I help?”

“Good Morning- I’m calling regarding a pen I believe I left at the event yesterday. It’s a red Marilyn Monroe Montblanc Fountain pen.” Straight to the point.

It’s a good thing she couldn’t see the look of realisation on Therese’s face as soon as she clocked that is was Carol she was talking to. 

She must have been silent for slightly too long as the next thing that came through the phone was “are you still there?”. 

“Oh! My apologies- Yes, I have it right here with me.” Therese replied, placing the pen down on the desk. “We close at 5:30 today, if you’re able to collect it.”

“That’s that. I will make sure to stop by this afternoon. Thank you.”

“See you this afternoon. Good-” Before Therese quite managed to get the word out of her mouth, the line went dead. “-bye”.

And, with that, Therese picked the pen up, placed it on the side behind her, and called the next customer forward to be served.

* * *

It wasn’t until Therese went on her last break of the day that she got a chance to dash into their office and catch up with Dannie. “I got a call this morning, by the way” Therese said, taking a bite of the sandwich she’d made before work.    
“Oh?”   
“Carol Aird’s picking up her pen. So if you see her whilst I’m up here, let me know.” Another bite of the sandwich. 

“Shall do, T.” And with that, Therese left and headed into the staffroom. It wasn’t fancy, by any means. But the mismatched furniture and the bookcase full of slightly damaged books they couldn’t quite sell, made it feel cozy and connected with the space downstairs. Therese picked up the same book she always did off the bookshelf and read as she took her break. 

* * *

It wasn’t until 5:25pm that Carol walked through the doors. By which point, they had basically given up hope, and as a result the pen had been locked in the drawer behind the till at around 5pm. Therese was sorting out shelves when she felt a tap on her shoulder. After shelving the book she was holding, she looked round to see Carol behind her, wearing a long, camel-coloured (what could only be assumed to be) faux-fur coat. 

“Oh! Ms Aird! Let me just fetch your pen for you” Therese said in a fluster, grabbing the key from her pocket and unlocking the drawer. “I was worried you wouldn’t make it!” She joked. 

“My most sincere apologies- I got distracted writing, lost track of time.” Carol took her pen from the hands of the brunette. “Thank you so much for looking after this- I don’t know how I could have been so careless!” If Abby had been here, she would have definitely have been told to stop being so dramatic. 

“Oh it’s really no problem.” 

“No really, I must thank you. Your shop’s shut now, is it not?” Carol said, checking the time. Dead on 5.30pm. “Let me take you out for a drink or something to eat. As a thank you” 

“You really don’t have to.”

“But I want to.” Carol argued, placing her hand on Therese’s shoulder.

“...If you insist, I suppose.” Therese turned round to the girl not-so-subtley eavesdropping behind them. “Gen, if Dannie asks, I had to leave early.” She grabbed her leather satchel from behind the till and they were ready to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise our ladies will finally spend time together as of next chapter!


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol takes Therese out for a meal as a thanks for returning her pen. (As you do when you're a rich author who 'misplaces' your £800 pen)

It was a 20-minute walk to the restaurant Carol had picked for them to eat at and had it not been rush hour, she may have considered for them to catch a black cab. It wasn't an awkward walk- small talk was exchanged for most of the way- but Therese would be lying if she didn't say she was looking forward to arriving at the restaurant and having a drink. She needed some liquid courage if she was going to be able to get through this evening without letting nerves get the better of her. 

The restaurant they stopped at looked incredible just from the outside. The front was covered in greenery- it looked like somewhere Therese would see on her instagram feed, not somewhere she'd usually expect to be eating in. Carol floated past the queue and walked right up to the server on the door, it felt impossible for Therese to ignore the dirty looks they were getting, but she'd be lying if she didn't say she enjoyed the privilege of being with someone well-known enough that they didn't need to queue up for dinner.

She didn't even need to look up to see the jungle of wisteria on the ceiling and the festoon lights hanging from the wooden beams the greenery draped from. The walls collected what must have been thousands of bottles, and picture frames were dotted around the walls without them. It was truly like nowhere she had ever visited. They were guided towards a table for two at the side- the closest thing to a booth they seemed to have, given a menu and left to their own devices.

"So... what do you think?" "Carol said, picking up the wine menu in front of them.

"I think... I need to collect lost items from signings more often" Therese said with a laugh. "This is incredible. Do you come here often?'

'When I can... It's one of my favourite restaurants in the city. I used to visit here with Abby all the time last summer. Their cocktails are *to* *die for* after a day's work." Before long, the waitress appeared, and with some resistance, Therese accepted Carol's offer to buy them a bottle of wine to share. (She could tell that Carol was not one to take no for an answer). And they went with rosé, as per Therese's request. Had Therese been with anyone else, she probably would have blindly picked pasta off the menu. Carol, on the other hand, was so well-known at the restaurant that when she requested something off the brunch menu for dinner, not an eyelid was batted. "An eggs alla fiorentina, please." The waitress's attention shifted towards the other woman, who hastily replied a simple "I'll have the same". 

Once they were left alone at the table (or as alone as you can be in a busy London restaurant), there was a slight, albeit noticable, shift in the atmosphere. And once pair were both half a glass of wine down, and whatever nervousness there was between them had fizzled away. "Do you do this often?" Therese asked, taking another sip. 

"Depends what you mean by 'this'."

"Take bookshop owners to fancy restaurants as a thank you for them not losing your pen"

"Oh yeah, all the time. I'm trying to see if I can visit every Italian in Central" There was a little laugh and Carol took another sip of her drink. "Funnily enough, this is my first time doing it. Why? Do you often let authors take you out after signings?" 

"My first time doing it too." Therese raised her glass. "To first times?" 

"To first times."

Before long, their dinner arrived (bon appétit) and was eaten, and the remaining just-over-half of the bottle of wine was drunk. Carol paid (as it was 'a thank you meal') and they got ready to leave (but not before Therese got Carol to take a couple of pictures her for instagram- there was no way she was going to visit a restaurant like this and *not* post about it online).

They almost went their separate ways after that. Almost- but not before Therese suggested desert and they ended up walking, practically arm in arm (it was a wonder what half a bottle of wine each could do), towards Chinatown, where Therese *personally recommended* the bubblewrap waffles. (They ended up sharing). (Carol claimed she 'didn't have a sweet tooth' and refused to let Therese buy her one just for her).

And so, before long, things wound up and they walked to a bus stop so Therese could head home. 

"Thank you for this evening-"

"And thank you for safely returning my pen"

"I shall look forward to seeing what brilliance comes out of it in the future." Therese replied, sticking her arm out to signal for the oncoming bus.

"I'll make sure you're the first to know. Get home safe!"

And with the beep of an oyster card, Therese disappeared onto the bus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Surprise! I took an unintentional two month hiatus (I do my best work at uni but I've been stuck at home since before Christmas and it's really thrown a spanner in the works) but I'm hopefully back for good now with at least weekly updates on this work :) 
> 
> First thing: This restaurant is based off a real restaurant in London, Circolo Popolare- I've never been but I stumbled across it whilst researching and I'm officially in love.
> 
> Second thing: I'm a full time geography student, and living up to that title, I decided to map all the locations in this fic for people outside of London/the UK to see where I'm imagining everywhere to be and how far apart everywhere is! I'm going to aim to update it as the fic goes on, it should be fun.
> 
> https://www.mapcustomizer.com/map/Storytime%20and%20Fall
> 
> I hope you're all staying safe and I shall hopefully update again very soon x


End file.
